5 Ways You Can Take Instagram Marketing To The Next Level

Want to take your Instagram marketing to the next level? You are in the right place.

In this post, I take a look at five ways you can take Instagram marketing to the next level.

1. Automate Your Posts

Instagram accounts that publish more than 7 posts every week get the most engagement. But only around 5% accounts post that amount.

Posting regularly on social media becomes much easier when you can plan ahead of time and publish it automatically. You can do that on Facebook and Twitter. But Instagram doesn’t let you do that. You can use third-party apps to schedule your post but you have to push the share button.

So I’ll take a look at scheduling apps that will let you compose your post and have them ready for publishing. It will notify you when it’s time for the post to go live. You will then just have to push the share button.

One of the best Instagram scheduling apps is Later. You can use it from a browser or an iPhone. It works with Instagram, Twitter, Facebook & Pinterest.

Later has both free & premium packages. The free version lets you publish 30 Instagram photos per month. If you want to schedule more than 30 post or schedule videos, you have to get their $9/month premium package.

There are some apps that let you publish Instagram posts automatically. But they are breaking Instagram rules. Using them could result in your account being suspended. So it’s better to stay clear of them.

2. Enhance Your Contents

When you look at the users with large audiences, they are either professional photographers or very attractive.

It’s hard to compete with them. Most of us aren’t attractive like them or have access to the equipment professional photographers have.

To compete with them, you need to make your posts funny and impactful. One easy way to do that is by editing your contents.

Snapseed is one of the most popular apps to edit Instagram pictures. It has all kinds of feature that will take your image to the next level. After using it a couple of times, Instagram’s built-in filters will seem too simple.

If you don’t like Snapseed, check out VSCO Cam. It’s not just a photo editing app, it also works like a stand-alone social network. You can share your edited photos with other VSCO users and follow users you like.

If you want a simple app that just lets you add text to your photo, Quick is the app for you.

If you want to create collages by remixing photos, check out Layout. You can combine up to nine photos to make one image. You can use it to show before or after content, highlight your best content, show off a sequences etc. It’s available in iTunes & Play Store.

Another app I want to mention is Boomerang. It lets you create a video that loops back and forth. Like a Gif. To use it, just record something that moves using this app. It’s available in iTunes & Play Store.

3. Use Analytics Tools to Better Measure Your Success

Without analytics, your marketing will be hit-and-miss. With proper analytics, you can understand how you are performing and how you can improve.

You can access some basic analytics through the official Instagram app by converting your profile to a business profile. It’s pretty simple:

Just tap on the gear icon on your profile page.

Tap Switch to Business Profile.

Then you have to connect to Facebook. Tap Continue.

Now you’ll see all of the Facebook Pages you run. You have to associate Instagram account with one of the page.

You’ll arrive at a Set Up Your Business Profile page. Review all your contact information and tap Done.

Now you’ll see a bar chart icon you see in the top-right corner of the Instagram app. Tap it and you’ll access Instagram insights for your account.

You can see your account impression & reach, profile views, website & email clicks, your top posts etc. You will also get various insights into your followers: the average times they are on Instagram, gender & age range distribution, top locations, followers activity, etc.

There are other third-party apps you can use to complement Instagram Insights.

Simply Measured is one of my favourite. It provides a free report for users with up to 25,000 followers. All you have to do is fill up a form and it will provide a rich & clear report on your account for the previous two weeks. You can see what has worked well for you so you can replicate that in the future.

If you want to determine the best times to post based on engagement, what kind of contents to post, what hashtags to use, check out Union Metrics.

4. Hold Contest To Grow Brand Awarness

Holding a contest is the easiest way to grow brand awareness and significantly boost followers count in a short amount of time. According to one study, posts related to contests get 64x more comments and 3.5x more likes

In your contest post, clearly add the rules, the prize, what people need to do to be eligible, the deadline, the winner announcement date and any restrictions, if you have any. Read how other people are writing their contest description. You’ll learn how to make your better.

Also, make sure you follow Instagram’s promotion guidelines.

Give away a prize that is relevant to your target audience. If you are a fitness company but give away a laptop, you will attract followers that don’t care about business.

You can run many kinds of contests. The most popular one is tag to win contest. All your follower have to do is tag a friend to enter the competition. When your followers tag their friends, they will get a notification. Then the will potentially check your profile and become a follower. They may even enter your competition and tag another friend.

This will improve your organic reach.

If you offer physical products, you can hold a selfie contest. You just ask your followers to post a selfie while using your product. In the content description, create a unique hashtag and ask people to use it when they are posting the selfie.

If you don’t have physical products, instead of selfies, you can ask to provide any kind of photos you want. Pick the photos that you think is best as the winner.

5. Take Advantages of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote your content. If you aren’t familiar with influencer marketing, you just find people who will promote your products in exchange for a payment.

If you can create a network of influencers, you can share the news of your products and services with their huge number followers. You can also get them to post reviews and photos about your brand to get new customers.

When you are choosing an influencer, make sure their audience is same as yours. Try to stay away from influencers with a huge following. Their accounts usually have low engagement rates. Check how many comments & likes they are getting.

It’s better to choose influencers with less than 50K followers. They usually have higher engagement & more loyal followers.

What Instagram marketing strategies are you planning to use in 2018 to get better results?